Italy Falk2 · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
696 metres, to scale.
A slice through Gola Su Gorropu where it is deepest and narrowest, measured on the Copernicus relief model every 30 m. Same scale as the landmark standing on the floor.
Standing on the floor, to scale: Great Pyramid · 139 m · Empire State · 443 m
Depth is measured to the lower rim; the width is from rim to rim. A 30 m relief model smooths the narrowest walls, so a slot canyon reads shallower than it is.
696m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
3.5km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
51°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
246m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
4 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 34 °C on the floor, against 29 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from April to May and in October. The wettest months are from October to December.
- 12°8°Jan
- 13°8°Feb
- 16°11°Mar
- 19°15°Apr
- 24°19°May
- 30°26°Jun
- 34°29°Jul
- 34°29°Aug
- 28°23°Sep
- 23°19°Oct
- 17°12°Nov
- 13°9°Dec
Afternoon highs, 1991–2020 averages (NASA POWER) brought to the altitude of the rim and of the floor with the standard lapse rate (6.5 °C per 1 000 m). Shade, wind and rock change this on the day. Not a forecast.
Valley in Italy
Gola Su Gorropu is a canyon in Italy, cut by the Riu Flumineddu river. The relief model measures 696 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 3.5 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Urzuleinearest town · 10 km in a straight line
- Parking 1,800 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Punto Panoramico Gorropunearest viewpoint · 1.7 km from the floor
- Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport (OLB)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 79 km in a straight lineCar hire at OLB airport (Olbia)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From April to May and in Octoberbest months to hike (estimate)
Plan the visit
Guided hikes, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
The river
The Riu Flumineddu runs highest from November to January.
The Riu Flumineddu carries about 1.3 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from November to January. It is lowest from June to September.
- 2.7 m³/sJan
- 2.1 m³/sFeb
- 1.8 m³/sMar
- 1.6 m³/sApr
- 1.1 m³/sMay
- 0.5 m³/sJun
- 0.2 m³/sJul
- 0.1 m³/sAug
- 0.6 m³/sSep
- 1.4 m³/sOct
- 3.2 m³/sNov
- 3.3 m³/sDec
From about 0.13 m³/s in the lowest month to 3.3 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 142 km².
Estimate: long-term flow from the HydroATLAS model (WaterGAP, 1971–2000) shaped by the monthly rain, snow and temperature of the area (NASA POWER). Dams change it. Not a forecast.
From the sky.
The canyon from above, with the relief shaded, the line of the cut, the river and what people have mapped around it.
N
1.9 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 7.5 × 7.5 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 10viewpoints within 5 kmPunto Panoramico Gorropu, Dolina Su Sercone, Nuraghe Mereu and 7 more
- 14marked hiking routes within 4 kmGrande Traversata Supramontes Tappa 3, Grande Traversata Supramontes Tappa 2, B485 - Ponte S'Abba Arva - Gola di Gorropu and 11 more
- 2named waterfalls within 4 kmCascata Sa Giuntura, Su Cunn'e S'ebba
- 7caves within 3 km
- 3car parks within 3 km
- 8information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 2campsites within 8 kmCamping Silana
- 1hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmHotel Gorropu
- 3restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- climbing crags within 3 km
- footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
- swimming spots within 3 km
- bus stops within 2 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, around the floor of the canyon. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Towns nearby
- Urzulei10 km in a straight line
- Orgosolo13 km in a straight line
- Oliena13 km in a straight line
- Dorgali14 km in a straight line
- Cala Gonone15 km in a straight line
- Talana16 km in a straight line
- Mamoiada19 km in a straight line
- Triei20 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Gola Su Gorropu.
The river that carved it, the waterfalls inside it, the mountains on the rim, the lakes, beaches and island nearby — from our six sister atlases, each with its own figures.
Peakyas12 mountains within 15 km
Coastya12 beaches within 15 kmFigures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, NOAA, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Month by month
The weather, at the floor and at the rim.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon · floor | 12 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 24 | 30 | 34 | 34 | 28 | 23 | 17 | 13 |
| Afternoon · rim | 8 | 8 | 11 | 15 | 19 | 26 | 29 | 29 | 23 | 19 | 12 | 9 |
| Night · rim | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 12 | 9 | 5 | 2 |
| Rain (mm) | 46 | 41 | 40 | 43 | 32 | 11 | 4 | 12 | 37 | 50 | 79 | 58 |
| Rainy days | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 10 |
| Sun hours/day | 3.8 | 4.9 | 6.2 | 7.5 | 9.3 | 11.4 | 12.2 | 10.8 | 8.0 | 6.3 | 4.2 | 3.7 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 12 | 8 | 1 | 46 | 3.8 |
| Feb | 13 | 8 | 0 | 41 | 4.9 |
| Mar | 16 | 11 | 2 | 40 | 6.2 |
| Apr | 19 | 15 | 5 | 43 | 7.5 |
| May | 24 | 19 | 8 | 32 | 9.3 |
| Jun | 30 | 26 | 13 | 11 | 11.4 |
| Jul | 34 | 29 | 15 | 4 | 12.2 |
| Aug | 34 | 29 | 16 | 12 | 10.8 |
| Sep | 28 | 23 | 12 | 37 | 8.0 |
| Oct | 23 | 19 | 9 | 50 | 6.3 |
| Nov | 17 | 12 | 5 | 79 | 4.2 |
| Dec | 13 | 9 | 2 | 58 | 3.7 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (246 m) and the rim (947 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.
Photographs
Seen from the trail.
Recent years
Wet years, dry years.
Rain of each month as a share of the 1991–2020 average. A dry year means a lower river and hotter rock; a wet one, more water in the gorge.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 56% | 6% | 74% | 129% | 66% | 150% | — | 146% | 188% | 49% | 68% | 123% |
| 2021 | 130% | 50% | 68% | 713% | 35% | 2,600% | — | 38% | 109% | 137% | 209% | 56% |
| 2022 | 21% | 8% | 87% | 79% | 95% | 3% | — | 151% | 90% | 53% | 109% | 48% |
| 2023 | 177% | 92% | 40% | 55% | 215% | 247% | — | 56% | 20% | 40% | 224% | 540% |
| 2024 | 81% | 87% | 108% | 39% | 101% | 64% | — | 177% | 92% | 121% | 37% | 57% |
| 2025 | 121% | 92% | 172% | 188% | 55% | 28% | — | 474% | 196% | 474% | 395% | 284% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Gola Su Gorropu
Italy
- 696 mDepth
- 3.5 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 51°Steepest wall
Gorges de la Spelunca
France · 236 km
- 1,030 mDepth
- 6.4 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 43°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q1534505) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| River flow and basin | HydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0 |
| Climate | NASA POWER, 1991–2020 |
| Viewpoints, trails, bridges and the river line | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Rivers, waterfalls, mountains, lakes, beaches and islands nearby | Coastya, Lakeyas, Peakyas, Cascadyas, Islandyas, Riveryas |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.
beaches
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lakes
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Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit 
waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit 
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.You are here